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Monthly Archives: January 2015

After moving to my new ‘hood a few months ago, last weekend was the first time I actually explored some of the food in the area. I haven’t as much ordered from Seamless or even eaten out since my move, taking full advantage of a new cooking space situation. But the good thing of having friends who live near you and have already gotten the lay of the land is sometimes, they take you with. And so my friend Shazeen introduced me to Dough Loco, a small doughnut joint a hop and skip away from my apartment.

Dough Loco

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I’ve never really been a doughnut person, but as NYC imposes its likings upon you, as it had done to me with cupcakes previously, I can’t say I hate them either. And hate is also as far as it can go with Dough Loco. I guess I’m trying to overcome my denial and say, this place is awesome.

When we walked into the small space I was on the phone, so I didn’t pay full attention to all the flavors but quickly pointed to the Blueberry on Bluberry doughnut topped with little crunchies which Shazeen picked up for me, and got a Raspberry Siracha doughnut for herself. The doughnuts are made fresh, and who knew a combo like raspberry siracha would work, but it tastes exactly what it is, and it just does.

To go

Raspberry siracha and bluberry Dough Loco doughnuts

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And that’s probably what makes it interesting to me – their combos like blood orange and poppyseed, and blackberry gingersnap cake, chai eggnog, intense chocolate, or the the popular miso maple doughnut. I couldn’t find much more info on it except their Facebook says it’s a “crazy yeast-raised doughnut and coffee joint” (they serve Blue Bottle espressos here…also I hope Shazeen is reading this). Whatever the case, I’m a fatter happier person for knowing it exists.
Shop Info:Dough Loco
24 E. 97th St.
New York, NY 10029
212-410-6297
Upper East Side/East Harlem

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Pretending to be snowed in is as good excuse as any to try something new, yes? I used to make a big shopping list for a new recipe but call it laziness, now I’m working in reverse and trying to make something with whatever’s in my kitchen (also a good excuse not to have to go outside when you realize you’re two steps away from being a creature in hibernation).

I had a whole sack of red potatoes I wanted to try making a new side dish with and thought about smashed potatoes since my cousin mentioned she was craving some the other day. This is a great one to try because A) it’s pretty, but more importantly B) the avocado garlic aioli has so much flavor. Making this isn’t hard at all but takes a little bit of patience because the potatoes take a while to soften. I made it to compliment some 9th Degree sausages I got from Honest Chops which I already had in my freezer too (that’s one of their prepped meats, which makes it so easy to just throw on the grill since it’s already seasoned). PS, you can make these potatoes vegan if your substitute the mayo with a vegan variety.

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Ingredients:FOR THE POTATOES:
18 small red potatoes (this was about how many came in a sack)
Extra virgin olive oil
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ground red cayenne pepper
Garlic powder or garlic sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Few stems of parsley or cilantro to garnish

Bring water in a large pot to a boil and add potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. I didn’t peel the potatoes but make sure you rinse them well before adding to the water. Place on stove top and turn heat to high. When the water starts to boil, reduce heat slightly, and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare the avocado aioli. Add garlic into food processor and process until minced. Now add the rest of the aioli ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Ingredients ready to be processed

Avocado garlic aioli

When potatoes are fork tender, drain and cool for 10 minutes or so. Preheat oven to 450F.

Smashed.

Place potatoes on a large lightly greased baking sheet. I used the base of a mug to press down on each potato until it’s mostly flattened. Some potatoes might break apart a little, but that’s fine.

Drizzle each potato with olive oil (about a tsp each) and sprinkle on a generous amount of salt and pepper. Finally, sprinkle on some garlic powder (I didn’t have any so I just used garlic salt).

Roast potatoes in the oven for 25-30 minutes until crispy, golden, and browned on the bottom. Keep an eye on them as cook time will vary. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley (again I used cilantro because I didn’t have any parsley), more salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Et voila.

There was some avocado aioli left over which made a nice dipping sauce for the sausages as well.
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*Inspired by Oh She Glows

I have a whole post almost ready to go about everything I did in Costa Rica, in case any of you are planning to go (which, also, you SHOULD). And now with this impending snowstorm of record proportions due to hit NY, the pura vida nostalgia is for REAL.

Chocolate covered espresso beans

One of my favorite snacks from there were these little chocolate covered espresso beans I tried first at the Doka Estate. As you can might be able to tell from the blog alone, give me coffee flavored everything. I took one bite of these and stocked up on them to give to everyone back home too.

Almond Butter x Chocolate coffee attempt 1

I even started incorporating them on random days at breakfast. I topped whole grain, whole wheat bread with almond butter, a drizzle of honey, and thought that would be my healthy-ish breakfast. But I eyed my packet of Britt chocolate, and added it to my toast. On the second go, I even put a little finely-grounded coffee (the same Irving Farm Roasters one from the previous post).

Attempt two with powdered coffee

I may be an addict, but I’m not apologizing.#PURAVIDA
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Guys, I’m not sure what I was drinking before, but I’m with the coffee snobs on this one: drip coffee tastes way better.

Chemex pour over

I probably wouldn’t have fully appreciated it had my friend Russell (hi Russell!) got me this hourglass contraption from Chemex for my birthday. I was super intimidated to try it but after a quick lesson I realized we are just spoiled senseless by coffee machines. Here’s a quick Instagram video I did:

2) Before adding the coffee, pour warm water over the top and let it filter too to warm up the filter.

3) Add desired coffee (I usually do a tsp and a half for one cup). Add a just enough water to let the coffee ‘bloom’ (this is caused naturally when the CO2 gases are released from the coffee). Basically (nerdspeak alert*), when the water hits the coffee, the rate of degassing increases, which causes the grounds to puff up noticeably. This actually pushes any water flowing through away from the grounds. If water doesn’t have sufficient contact with the grounds, the extraction won’t be great, so if you do this step and wet the coffee first helps prevent this. Just wait a few seconds til the dome deflates.

4) Next, just pour as much water as you want for your cup of coffee.

5) I like my coffee really hot so I put my Chemex over a really low heat on the stove while the coffee pours through. You can add this to heat with no problem.

Irving Farm coffee

I never imagined I would enjoy straight up black coffee with no extra sugar or milk, but this tastes so good I don’t feel the need for either. This Chemex takes away from the bitterness, so you can really taste the coffee. And on that note, this particular brew is delicious: Irving Farm Coffee Roasters coffee from Ethiopia. It tastes so good and makes my whole kitchen smell like java heaven.

Chemex pour over and grounded coffee from Irving Farm

Such a great gift. I’ve been having it every day and another thing I love about it is it doesn’t have a bad aftertaste, or taste super acidic (which I hate feeling on my teeth afterwards). I don’t know if I’m crazy but it’s a totally different experience. Anyways, just the news on my latest conversion.

Any one use this, or a french press for their coffee? Because I totally get it now.
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Last night, Philosophy hosted a concert with British singer Natasha Bedingfield to bring light to their new Hope & Grace Initiative — going forward, the brand will be donating 1 percent of all their product sales (whether it’s at Sephora, Ulta, or QVC) to support community-based mental health efforts. To just give you an idea, they are the #1 selling skincare brand on QVC, and they’re hoping to donate at least $10,000,000 in less than five years.

Natasha Bedingfield performing her new song Hope last night

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When they came up with the idea of restoring hope in women who are dealing with mental health issues — studies show 1 in every 4 women are struggling with a mental health issues, but more than 40 percent never seek treatment because of the stigma attached to it — Jill Scalamandre (COTY’s Chief Marketing Officer) told the crowd that whenever she’s feeling down she would turn on Bedingfield’s music. Her songs like ‘Pocket Full of Sunshine’ and ‘Unwritten,’ she explained always brought her up. When the brand started thinking of partnering wish someone who could bring awareness to their initiative, they thought Natasha would be the best fit. They reached out to her and within 6 days, she was on board. Within another week, the song “Hope” was written. Twenty percent of the profits from the single, which Bedingfield debuted last night, will be donated to the Hope & Grace Initiative.

To kick off the launch, the brand presented their first $20,000 check to Connect, and organization that helps women suffering with domestic violence. Talk about a feel-good evening.

Renewed Hope in a Jar

To round it out, Philosophy has also launched their evolved best-selling Hope in a Jar with Renewed Hope in a Jar, a more lightweight, all-day moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, and alpha-hydroxy acids (glycolic, mandelic, and citric) to improve pore visibility and fine lines. In one week, 100% of users reported an improvement in skin texture, and after 4, 79% saw a reduction in pore size. I love this newer version — the original was a tad too heavy for me but I used this one for the first time last night before I went to bed and this morning my skin feels so smooth and soft today (we call it a #WinterWin). Going to keep using it to see if it keeps improving!

Renewed Hope in a Jar

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Natasha Bedingfield performing her new song Hope last night

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I was invited recently to check out a preview of Henri on Fifth, a new restaurant in Park Slope that mixes an eclectic cuisine drawing on the owner Binh Douglas and his wife’s heritage (he’s part Vietamese, Native American, African American and she’s part French and German) with a comfortable atmosphere and a bottomless supply of board games. The place is named after their newborn (cue the ‘awwwwws’). To be honest, what reeled me in was when they told me there’d be a “fun selection of retro board games to play” because I’m really 12 and How fun?! I braved the cold to take a 20 minute subway ride down to BK after work, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the food was even more astounding.

List of available games. I requested they add Taboo to the line up because then it'd be OVER.

The arcade games are found inside two tables you can play at (no coins needed)

And the menu was just what the winter blues calls for: buttery nut squash soup, sliders with caramelized shallots and sherry thyme, pretzel bread with muenster and sauerkraut, truffle fries, banh mini tacos, several types of succulent grilled cheeses, and probably my favorite unexpected treat, deviled eggs filled with seasoned siracha cream and a little BBQ chip that gives it the perfect balance of taste and texture.

Grilled cheese bite

Deviled egg

Butter nutty squash soup

Pretzel bread with sauerkraut and muenster

Between tasting the menu items, and killing my friend Mehak at Pac-Man, it was a pretty solid night. If you need a chill spot to eat and be merry with Connect 4, Check this place out. The restaurant will soon have brunch so I expect to be back soon myself.